Tegu Bath

[Toby_H]

I do a pretty good job at keeping my TeguÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s cage rather moist but I still think occasional bathes are quite beneficial. It will aid greatly in a clean shed but also saturates the Tegu to ensure dehydration is not a concern.

Note this is for a 41Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? long Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?Å?08 male Varnyard TeguÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

I fill the tub up with about 4~6Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? of 100~103*F water. Basically I use water that to me would feel like a nice warm soakÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ For reference Hot Tubs are generally run at 103~104*F

Within 2 minutes of getting in the water my Tegu always poosÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ and IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m always ready with a pitcher ready to scoop it out.

IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢d like to do this for about an hour once a week, but to be honest, my Tegu doesnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t enjoy the bath at all. He spends the entire time trying to climb out. IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢ve tried putting a piece of slate on a rock in the tub to offer a place for him to rest, but he just uses it as a platform to jump out of the tub.

The water is shallow enough that he can easily stand with his entire head/neck out of the water without even coming close to stretchingÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

I hate putting my Tegu through a negative experience and I wonder if the stress caused by the bath outweighs the benefits gained from soaking.

I bought lumber this morning and am about to head outside to start working on his new enclosure. It will include a nice sized water dish (12Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? wide x 24Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? long @ up to 10Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã? deep with depth reduced by adding gravel to raise the bottom). It will include a filter to collect the physical waste which will be very easy to clean frequently. It will also contain a heater to keep the temperature (and tanks humidity) up, although I do not plan on keeping it any where near 103*F.

What is your experience with bathing your Tegu? Is this something he will ever get used to and come to enjoy? Does the benefit of soaking outweigh the stress it causes (or vise versa)?

 

[pitbulldc]

I do the same with my tegus, but last week one started twitching when I picked him up. this lasted for about 2 min then he was back to normal. could it be that the water was to cool or hot? or maybe MBD? I use powersun 150 for light and I also use cal and other vit with his food. what do u think?

 

[TanMan57]

My larger of my two tegu's loves the water but he didnt used to. I got him accompanied with my bathroom so it wasnt a scary place to him by letting him free roam in the with the toilet section blocked off. Then I would give him a bath but I would keep the water running so it was always warm and he eventually got to love it.

 

[Toby_H]

I do not think it's the water that he doesn't like... I believe it's just the bathroom/bathtub he doesn't care for...

 

[fusionink]

I do the same with my tegus, but last week one started twitching when I picked him up. this lasted for about 2 min then he was back to normal. could it be that the water was to cool or hot? or maybe MBD? I use powersun 150 for light and I also use cal and other vit with his food. what do u think?

reason why he twitches is water temp. is off alot from his regulare temp i've have that happen once before i've always try to keep water close to enclosure temp. to prevent that from happening. usually it's because it's to cold

 

[isdrake]

I think that being taken from the safe enclosure to the bathroom can stress almost every reptile. None of our Tegus enjoyed taking baths in the bathroom. They used to climb each other trying to get out of the water.

One week ago I gave our Tegu a new and bigger waterbowl. Ever since she has been pooping in the water. Every single day. She didn't used to do that in the smaller bowl. Which mean she have started to soak on her own. I'm really happy about it, makes cleaning a lot easier.

Our bearded dragon refuses to drink or soak! She won't touch the water. Before I used to give her a soak in the bathroom once every week. But now I just spray some water on her then I spay the terrarium. She has never shown any sign of dehydration.

So I guess there are other ways to prevent dehydration that is not as stressful as taking baths outside the terrarium. Maybe that method should be used only for reptiles that are dehydrated.

 

[txrepgirl]

At the beginning all of my Tegus were squirmy in the tub but they got used to it and now they love it. I usually put them in the tub and then let the water in. This way they get used to the warmth of the water faster. A lot of times the water seems to feel nice and warm to us but when a Tegu's body is cold it feels hot to him.
If I see that they are a bit scared of the water I put one hand under theire chin so they can lay their head on it. I gently rub the neck and it calms them down fast. I recommend changing the water in the tub and rinse him off before putting some new water in it. Even if you scoop out the poop all the urine is still in the water. A lot of times Tegus will drink the bath water and it wouldn't be good for him to drink that nasty water.

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[romanmark]

I am a strong supporter of reptile socialization. To me, if I cannot handle my reptile to care for it, clean it's cage or to show it off to a visitor without the creature becoming stressed and frantic, it's not benefitting me or the creature.

For Iguanas, socialization is very important because while they pose little threat when babies, when they grow to be 10-15 pounds with a mouth full of teeth, they need to know who is in control. For Iguanas we suggest daily handling, never allow the Iguana to force you to put it back in the cage and to maintain Alpha dominance at all times. This helps them develop some sort of trust in you and helps them to understand you are not there to harm them.

Mine has never been a big fan of baths either, that is unless it's time for him to poop. I've found that if I put a rock in with him to rest on he feels a little more secure. If you're putting anything over a couple inches he's gonna freak out.

 

[Bubblz Calhoun]

My tegus loved bath time,.. the only time I had a problem with them not wanting to stay in is when they were done and or the water wasn't warm enough. Spaz liked to lay across my arm under running water until she got use to it with out me having to hold her.

When they are younger the water level comes up to the middle of their back at the front of the tub (near the drain) so that they can adjust and move to where they fell comfortable. Since the front of the tub is deeper than the rear.

As they grow the water level goes up to where their body is submerged and the head and neck is above water at the front of the tub. As they move to the back it should be about mid back or shoulder level depending on the size of the tub.

I always have something inside with them (like a bowl flipped over) that they can rest their head on stretch out and relax without worrying about their head going under.

I let them gauge what temp they want the water to be with my hand under the faucet. Too hot or too cold and they move a way from it,.. just right and they stretch out the same as when basking.

When they're done I hang a towel over the side of the tub for them to climb out. This helps with drying and to keep them from jumping all over the place trying to get out. Eventually they recognize the towel as the way out and go straight for it. Which makes for a much calmer and relaxed tegu if and or while I'm drying them off.

This is also a good time to give them a good once over especially when they are shedding to make sure there's no retained shed or anything else going on. It's also a great time to get their weight and measurement with out them putting up to much of a fuss.